loader from loading.io

Throw Back Thursday: MOM THE VOTE: Election Impact Advice To Light Your Way

Mother's Quest Podcast

Release Date: 11/03/2022

Ep 106: The Secret to Impacting Our Democracy with States Project's Melissa Walker show art Ep 106: The Secret to Impacting Our Democracy with States Project's Melissa Walker

Mother's Quest Podcast

As I bring you this episode, we are less than two weeks from the 2024 U.S. Election. In preparation for this moment, I seized the opportunity to sit down with Melissa Walker, a children's book author turned powerful political advocate, instrumental in the founding of an organization called The States Project.  Melissa’s path to The States Project was paved in the election results of 2016 which, like it did for so many of us, became a catalyst for activism. Looking for a way to get more intimately involved in our democratic process, her journey took a powerful turn when she attended a...

info_outline
Ep 105: The Evolution of Parenting Teens and Beyond with Parent Coach Casey O’Roarty show art Ep 105: The Evolution of Parenting Teens and Beyond with Parent Coach Casey O’Roarty

Mother's Quest Podcast

I’m excited to share this conversation with my longtime fellow podcasting friend and parenting guide, Casey O’Roarty. Casey is a positive discipline trainer, certified coach and facilitator of personal growth and development, who encourages parents to discover the purpose of our journey. Through workshops, live and online classes, individual coaching, a published book, and her Joyful Courage Podcast, Casey helps us reconnect to our own empowerment and excitement in parenting, providing us with tools and a shift of mindset that allows us to deepen relationships with ourselves and our...

info_outline
Ep 104: Calm, Compassion, Clarity: Election 2024 show art Ep 104: Calm, Compassion, Clarity: Election 2024

Mother's Quest Podcast

I’m excited to share with you this special episode featuring bite-sized messages from past podcast guests with practices to help us stay grounded, find calm, and regulate our nervous systems in these final days leading up to the 2024 U.S. election! The inspiration for it… A few weeks ago, amid some election anxiety and inspired by my friend Katie Hanus, I committed to just 10 minutes of meditation. Lying on my back, I looked up at the wind moving through a beautiful redwood tree in my backyard. As I watched, I listened to the sound of a nearby wind chime. My breath began to slow, my...

info_outline
Ep 103: Knowing Our History:  Civil Rights Insights for Today’s World with Sojourn Project's Jeff Steinberg show art Ep 103: Knowing Our History: Civil Rights Insights for Today’s World with Sojourn Project's Jeff Steinberg

Mother's Quest Podcast

I’m honored to share this special Father’s Day edition of the Mother’s Quest Podcast. This episode features my friend  Jeff Steinberg, whose commitment to the lessons of the civil rights movement can shine a light for us now, during another pivotal time in our nation’s history. Jeff and I first crossed paths when our sons, Ryan and Journey, now 20 years old, became inseparable friends in preschool. While waiting to pick up our kids, I instantly connected with Jeff as I learned about the transformative work he was doing as Executive Director of Sojourn to the Past, also known as...

info_outline
Ep 102: Milestone Hike Revisited: A Mother Son Neurodiversity Journey show art Ep 102: Milestone Hike Revisited: A Mother Son Neurodiversity Journey

Mother's Quest Podcast

Welcome to this first episode of Season Nine of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with a returning and special guest, my own son Ryan Neale. I first sat down to record an episode with Ryan in 2017, on his 13th birthday, after we embarked on a milestone hike, using the ascent and descent at our local Sugarloaf Peak to pack up the lessons of his first 13 years of life and my first 13 years of motherhood.  At that time, Ryan knew he wanted to close out his teenage years the same way he began them. So this past March, in what felt like the blink of an eye, his 20th birthday approached and Ryan...

info_outline
Ep 101: Stoking our Soul Fire for a Revolution from Home with Beth Berry show art Ep 101: Stoking our Soul Fire for a Revolution from Home with Beth Berry

Mother's Quest Podcast

Welcome to this last conversation of 2023, with coach, teacher, small group and retreat facilitator at Revolution from Home, mother of four daughters and author of the book , Beth Berry. Beth says she has revolution in her bones. It began when she was seventeen and pumping milk in the bathroom of her high school for her now-grown eldest daughter. It has since gradually evolved into a tender, fiery conviction to reclaim motherhood from every disempowering personal and cultural story she can wrap her head and heart around. Beth has spent thousands of hours mentoring and supporting mothers...

info_outline
Ep 100: Mothering as Revolutionary Love show art Ep 100: Mothering as Revolutionary Love

Mother's Quest Podcast

This September 11, 2023, I had the honor of holding space for an intimate conversation with civil rights leader, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, educator, and best-selling author of the book The fact that we were recording on September 11th was meaningful, because the tragic event that had taken place 22 years ago shaped Valarie in profound ways and set her on a path that she never expected. Valarie became an activist after a man of the same Sikh faith, a father and family friend she called uncle, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was the first person murdered in hate violence in the aftermath of 9/11. ...

info_outline
Dear Body Revisited: And Then I Got Shingles show art Dear Body Revisited: And Then I Got Shingles

Mother's Quest Podcast

This month, I was planning to record a special solocast to welcome in our 100th episode of the podcast. Instead, three days before my son Jacob’s scheduled knee surgery on July 11th, I got diagnosed with shingles. I’m recovering well and so is Jacob thankfully. But it really caused me to revisit my relationship with my body. There was a need for forgiveness all the way around, a rebuilding of trust and a recommitment to myself. In case you’re not familiar, shingles is the re-emergence of the chicken pox virus, which if you’ve ever had chicken pox lives dormant in your nerves and tends...

info_outline
Ep 99: Building and Thinking Outside the Box with David Neale show art Ep 99: Building and Thinking Outside the Box with David Neale

Mother's Quest Podcast

I’m honored to share this special Father’s Day Episode featuring my very own father-in-law, David Neale. I started dating my husband Chris when I was only 19, so I realize David has been a source of inspiration and guidance in my life for over 30 years. How lucky I am to have had his example of leadership, impact, and joy for life to light my way for my entire adulthood!  The inspiration for this episode was sparked several months ago at a big milestone birthday celebration David organized to honor his 80th year. That celebration was also the launch of a new fund he initiated...

info_outline
Ep 98: Sometimes Change Sucks  Ep 98: Sometimes Change Sucks "Reflections at the 5 year Anniversary of the Manifesto Challenge” With Graeme Seabrook

Mother's Quest Podcast

In 2018, I sat down for a special Mother's Day episode with Graeme Seabrook, a life coach and maternal health advocate, affectionately known by the thousands of mothers she supported as the "Mom for Moms." We hit it off immediately, delving deep into her Motherhood Bill of Rights and my E.P.I.C. life framework, and noticing that both had become manifestos for how we wanted to live our lives while raising our children. During that episode, we co-created what we called a Manifesto Challenge, inviting other mothers to create their own. And afterward, we would reconnect in some way each May,...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

As the election in the United States approaches, I’m honored to bring back these words of wisdom from a diverse group of mothers working toward a brighter future in this special episode “Mom the Vote.”

Original Show Notes

At the time of this episode’s release, we are at a crossroads in the United States. This election of 2020 is one of the most important in our history. As activist Michael Skolnik says, the election is not 7 days away. The election is now. 

What can we do in our last few days before the conclusion of the election of 2020?

Like so many of you, I am asking myself what matters most and what I can do that can have an impact in these 7 days. When I feel myself swirling, I remember I don’t have to figure this out alone. So, I reached out to you, fellow mothers and grandmothers, many of you activists, and asked for your words of wisdom. 

Ahead, I have 7 pieces of advice, reflections or calls to action, that we can all connect to for guidance and inspiration each day ahead. This is an election minisode…because I wanted these to be bite-sized and easy to digest. Please join me in taking these words in, taking action, and paying the messages forward to other mothers in your network. 

I hope this minisode has you, as it does me, ready to dig in, to connect to community, to engage in multiple ways, to vote for our children, to remember why this matters, to get the vote out with women of color and make sure their votes count, and to mother like an organizer. Together, we can do this!
#momthevote #votelikeamother #momsrising

Thank you to Jen Jenkins Dohner for the beautiful “VOTE” podcast art. Find her work, Postcards for Progress here.

Episode Highlights:

  • The election is not 7 days away…the election is now and we can look to one another for how to use these days to the fullest. 
  • Why it matters to dig into propositions and ballot measures you might not understand.
  • Our election is not just about us as individuals, it’s about us as a society.
  • How we can use discernment and tap into our community to get us through. Register today for Nicole Lee’s Way Station, happening Friday to support you in that.
  • 5 ways that you can get engaged through MomsRising.
  • All the reasons why we should vote for our children.
  • How elections can be a joyful time for families.
  • The critical role that women of color voters play in this election and how we can make their vote count. Sign up here to text bank with She the People Wednesday.
  • Wise advice from a life-long organizer, mother and grandmother working to galvanize voting from and for domestic workers through Hand in Hand and her Caring Majority Facebook Group.

Resources Recommended by Our Mother Contributors:

7 Pieces of Advice From Our Contributors:

Advice #1 – Nancy Cavillones – Dig into Ballot Measures Because They Matter to Someone

Nancy Cavillones is an indie author’s best friend and is on a mission to keep authors sane by handling the minutiae of their online presence and communications. She’s been online in some form or other since 1993, and still has the AOL dial-up tone stuck in her head. (Interested in the full history? Check out her LinkedIn.)

She enjoys taking the scenic route, forcing her kids to appreciate nature, and spending time in New York City by herself in a desperate attempt to recapture her college days. Originally from Upstate NY by way of Long Island, Nancy recently relocated to Northern California with her family from Redding, Connecticut.  Nancy is the co-editor of Lose the Cape Mom’s Guide to Becoming Socially and Politically Engaged (And Rising Tiny Activists, Too!).

Where to reach Nancy:

Advice #2 – Nicole Lee – Reach Out Personally to Voters, Use Discernment and Connect to Community

Nicole Lee is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, leadership coach, nationally recognized speaker and strategist who regularly consults with nonprofits, schools, businesses and political and social movements to improve their climate for themselves and all those that they serve. She is the founder of Inclusive Life™ and co-founder of the Lee Bayard Group LLC and Black Movement-Law Project (BMLP). For almost a decade she served as President of TransAfrica, working with leaders across the globe to advocate for a just U.S. foreign policy.

Nicole is a prolific speaker who has given testimony to the U.S. Congress, the United Nations and other international bodies. She has been a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and BBC. She has been recognized for her outstanding contributions in the private and public sectors through numerous awards, including Congressional Black Caucus, Running Starts “Women to Watch”, Black Women’s Roundtable TrailBlazer, Global Leadership and the National Newspapers Publishers Association’s Press Champion Award. She is both an attorney and an intuitive coach. Through this unique blend, she has contributed to movements in the U.S. and abroad through human rights documentation, coaching and holding space in difficult situations. 

One of her proudest moments was working alongside civil rights icon Bill Lucy, the architect of the historic Memphis sanitation strike  for a national commemoration of the life of his good friend Nelson Mandela. Nicole lives in Washington, DC with her husband, political scientist Marc Bayard, children and three pets. 

Where to reach Nicole:

Advice #3 – Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner – Find Five Ways to Engage Through MomsRising

Kristin is the Executive Director/CEO and Co-Founder of MomsRising and Board President of the MomsRising Education Fund. She has been involved in public policy and grassroots engagement for more than two decades and has received numerous accolades for her work.

She is also an award-winning author of books and articles, frequent public speaker, media contributor, and host of the radio program “Breaking Through with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner (Powered by MomsRising).” Kristin is also a former political director, policy analyst, and political strategy consultant for non-profit organizations and foundations.

Where to reach Kristin:

Advice #4 – Kalima Salahuddin – Vote for Our Children and Have Them Join You in the Process

Kalimah Salahuddin currently serves as President for the Jefferson Union High School District Board of Education She is the immediate Past President of the San Mateo County School Boards Association (SMCSBA) were she served for two years and continues to serve as the Coordinator for the SMCSBA Equity Network.  At the County level she serves on the COVID-19 Recovery Council and the Advisory Council for the Equity initiative. She was one of the founding members of the REACH Coalition to increase equity and community health for all. She also was recently appointed to the Board of the Housing Leadership Council and previously served as a Board Member for Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco where she has been a regular site volunteer.  She is currently employed at Exelixis as a Coordinator on the Investor Relations / Public Affairs team and is mother to three wonderful adults.

Advice #5 – Jena Schwartz – Connect to All the Reasons That Voting Matters

Jena is an extroverted introvert, a lover of trees and fresh water swimming and babies and bulldogs, and a rabbi at heart. All of her works, from writing groups to retreats to individual coaching, editing, and mentoring, is devoted to creating safe and brave spaces where we get to write, share, and connect. She has been blogging as a practice since 2007. She works with people who struggle to value their writing if/when it’s not “productive” or clearly “going somewhere.”

Where to Reach Jena:

Advice #6 – Aimee Allison – Get Out the Vote and Make Sure Every Vote Counts From Critical Women of Color Voters

Aimee Allison is founder and president of She the People, a national network elevating the voice and power of women of color. She brings together voters, organizers, and elected leaders in a movement grounded in values of love, justice, belonging, and democracy. In 2018, Ms. Allison was one of the primary architects of the “year of women of color in politics.”

In April 2019, she convened the first presidential forum for women of color, reaching a quarter of the American population. A democratic innovator and visionary, Ms. Allison leads national efforts to build inclusive, multiracial coalitions led by women of color. She leverages media, research and analysis to increase voter engagement and advocate for racial, economic and gender justice.

Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Hill, Essence, Teen Vogue and Newsweek. In the early 1990’s, Ms. Allison earned a rare honorable discharge from the U.S. Army as a conscientious objector and works today to support courageous, moral leadership.

Aimee Allison holds a B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University. Author of Army of None, she has appeared in hundreds of outlets including MSNBC, CNN, the Washington Post, Associated Press and NPR. She is building a political home for a million women of color, nationally and in battleground states. She was featured in Politico’s 2019 Powerlist. 

Where to Reach Aimee:

Advice #7 – Lian Hurst Mann – Remember Elections Are About Legacy…And Mother Like an Organizer

Lian is a longtime organizer and faculty of the National School for Strategic Organizing (www.thestrategycenter.org). She is currently working with Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network.

Where To Reach Lian: